nanny

my grandmother was like no other

too bad you didn't meet her

every day at three she'd have g and t

at bridge you could not beat her

christmastime she'd end up crying

listening to chevalier

and i got ten bucks and a card each year

in september for my birthday

my grandmother didn't much bother

too much about being a granny

she didn't bake or knit

she didn't give a shit

us kids called her nanny

in the summertime we'd visit her

take the train up to rhodes island

westerly all east taxi

would pick us up

we'd party

my grandmother

my sister and my brother

and me all went to the ocean

in her cabin in there and that big beach chair

she'd survey our commotion

at the yacht club we'd get our grub

we had grinders and grape sodas

what a dream

pop corn

icecream

two weeks

no junk food quotas!

my grandmother would light up another

you know that cough of hers was chronic

she didn't drink wine but she was just fine

with that nice tall gin and tonic

nanny had opinions

nanny wasn't prissy

she said the men were queer who just drank beer

and ginger-ale was for sissies

my grandmother provided cover

for me when times got tricky

she took me in despite my sin

when i was busted in the late sixties

she found me a job in a boat yard

in her kitchen i cooked my brown rice

and vegetables and hijiki seaweed

wasn't too long before i wrote my first song

pretty soon i'd done it twice

my grandmother was like no other

too bad you didn't meet her

every day at three she'd have g and t

at bridge you could not beat her

christmastime she'd end up crying

listening to maurice chevalier

and i got ten bucks and a card each year

in september for my birthday

one year i got a twenty from nanny on my birthday